New Delhi: A protest erupted outside the Delhi High Court on Friday (December 26) over the suspension of the expelled Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kuldeep Singh Sengar’s jail term. Sengar was convicted in the 2017 Unnao kidnap and rape case in 2019.
The police warned of legal action against the protesters as the demonstration is prohibited outside the court. A police official announced through a megaphone that action would be taken against those violating the law. He also asked the protesters to protest at Jantar Mantar.
On December 24, the survivor stated that she would approach the Supreme Court against the high court’s decision. “HC decision like ‘kaal (death)’ for us, will challenge order in SC,” the survivor told PTI. The HC on Tuesday suspended the sentence of Sengar. Notably, the expelled BJP leader is serving life imprisonment in the 2017 Unnao rape case.
However, Sengar will remain in jail since he is also serving 10 years’ imprisonment in the custodial death case of the victim’s father and has not been granted bail in that case.
On the night of December 23, the rape survivor, her mother and lawyer-activist Yogita Bhayana were detained by Delhi Police after they staged a protest at India Gate.
Earlier this week, the Delhi HC granted conditional bail to Sengar during the pendency of his appeal against conviction. The order was passed by a Bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar.
While allowing the plea, the High Court imposed stringent conditions on Sengar. He has been directed not to enter within a five-kilometre radius of the survivor and to remain in Delhi for the entire period of bail. The court also ordered him to report to the police every Monday, warning that violation of any condition would lead to cancellation of bail.
Sengar challenged the trial court’s verdict convicting him of raping a 17-year-old girl. In December 2019, the trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh.
According to the prosecution, the survivor, who was a minor at the time, was kidnapped and raped by Sengar between June 11 and June 20, 2017. She also alleged that the expelled BJP leader sold her for Rs 6,00,000 before she was recovered by the police.
